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The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) (http://ICIEC.IsDB.org), the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, signed an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA) whereby the two parties agree to co-operate "in promoting trade and investment in the Member States common to both."
ICCIA, which is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan, is an International Non-Governmental Organization, is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and represents the private sector of the OIC's 57 Member Islamic States.
The MoU was signed by Mr. Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, and Mr. Yousef Hasan Khalawi, Secretary-General of ICCIA, in Karachi, Pakistan.
The aim of the MoU is to establish a framework of cooperation between the two institutions for the furtherance of their respective mandates, especially in promoting intra-OIC trade, attracting investment flows into Member States, supporting green and sustainable financing, and developing the Halal industry worldwide.
The role of ICIEC in promoting trade and investment into its Member States is backed by the fact that since its inception, the Corporation has disbursed a cumulative amount of US$ 92.1billion in this respect. Of this figure, US$72.7 billion represents credit support for trade, while US$18.4 billion for covering foreign direct investments.
In addition, ICIEC sees its role in export credit insurance and political risk insurance as pivotal towards helping bridge the Climate Action finance gap through de-risking, mobilizing private capital and partnerships. The value and supply chains related to Green and renewable energy are complex, and ICIEC sees a wide range of opportunities across its Member States to address the twin challenges of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. To this end, ICIEC has contributed over US$418 million toward infrastructure and over US$3.9 billion toward clean energy support thus far in 2022 alone.
The OIC target for Intra-OIC trade and investment flows is 25% by 2025. Currently, it is around 21%. Global trade and FDI flows were badly affected by the impact of COVID-19. But just as the trends started recovering in 2021, trade and investment have once again been impacted by the Ukraine conflict, the supply-chain disruptions, especially sharp rises in food and fuel prices and global economic shocks. The 57 OIC Member States form a large and potentially powerful trading bloc. IsDB data shows that in 2021 they accounted for US$3.7 trillion of trade, of which exports amounted to US$1,881.4 billion and imports for US$1,789.6 billion, respectively. The opportunities are huge and partnerships such as this MoU can only serve to enhance intra-OIC trade and investment.
Mr Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, welcomed the signing of the MoU with ICCIA: "This MoU further enhances ICIEC's long-established playbook on supporting trade and investment in our 48 Member States. Since its launch in 1994, ICIEC has had a 28-year of experience in commencing and introducing Sharia'h-compliant risk mitigation and credit enhancement tools primarily for the promotion of intra-OIC trade and investment in projects that are deemed strategically vital for our Member States".
"We are a strong supporter of promoting intra-OIC trade and investment. The total value of Intra-OIC Trade and Investment supported by ICIEC in 2022 reached US$ 88 billion. Through this MoU, we look forward to assisting exporters, investors, and financial institutions to reach new markets globally as our solutions allow them to navigate around the political and commercial risks inherent in international trade."
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Rania Binhimd, Communication Department
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About ICIEC:
ICIEC was established in 1994 to strengthen economic relations between OIC Member States and promote intra-OIC trade and investments by providing risk mitigation tools and financial solutions. The Corporation is uniquely the only Islamic multilateral insurer in the world. It has led from the front in delivering a comprehensive suite of solutions to companies and parties in its 48 Member States, including Documentary Credit Insurance Policy, Credit Insurance Products, Bank Master Policy, Non-Honouring of Sovereign Financial Obligations Policy, and Investment Insurance Products. ICIEC has, for the 14th consecutive year, earned an "Aa3" insurance financial strength credit rating from Moody's, ranking the Corporation among the top of the Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) Industry. ICIEC's resilience is underpinned by its sound underwriting, reinsurance, and risk management policies. Cumulatively, ICIEC has insured more than US$ 93.6bn in trade and investment and US$89.06 bn in support of FDI. Its activities were directed to specific sectors - US$37.8bn to energy, US$26.6bn to manufacturing, US$6.3bn to infrastructure, US$2.4bn to healthcare, and US$1.5bn to agriculture. For more information, visit: http://ICIEC.IsDB.org